Legacy

Legacy is a word that holds a lot of meaning. When a loved one dies, I believe we still learn from our loved one’s legacy. We learn to never give up on something we believe in, we learn more about suffering and we learn to live in the moment.

A few weeks ago at the BASIS picnic Don and Iris showed us the trees they plant every year in honor of their daughter Crystal’s legacy. I loved walking around their yard learning more about Crystal and what a lovely daughter, mother, wife and softball player she was. There were two paintings of a pair of softball cleats in their living room. One was done by Crystal and one was done by her daughter, Robin. Crystal’s legacy lives on through her children, Robin who is now in college and Jeff who is in high school. The tress are symbolic reminders of her life which was well lived. As I was thinking about the  symbolism of the trees, I remembered a song by Justin Rizzo, the lyrics include, “I want to be like a tree planted by the streams of living water...”

I imagine the lyrics come from Jeremiah 17:8 which reads...

They will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit.

I loved the symbolism a tree can represent in our own lives. God often uses our “drought” seasons to mold us and then He turns them into seasons that bear fruit. This is a perfect example of what the Lord is doing through Don and Iris. He using their testimony to walk alongside others who have lost a child.

As C2H2 evolves it is my desire to explore the idea of legacy with children and teens and encourage them to find their own ways of honoring their loved one’s legacy because legacies live on beyond us to impact the world with the Lord's love and compassion. God can turn our darkest seasons into something He can use to help others. That is why our God is always good.

I would love to hear how you honor your loved one’s legacy and how you have seen God's fruit during "drought" seasons? Please share below.